ft 



Descmptive 




Illastitated 



12 Iiatitetfn Slides 



WILLIAM H. RAU 

PHILADELPHIA 

1890 



A 



DESCRIPTIVE READING 



ON THE 



JOHNSTOWN DISASTER 



ILLUSTRATED BY TWELVE LANTERN 
SLIDES 



t A 



-7 C^ BY J. HAMPTON MOORE, 

DEC 3O-n90 \}f 



WILLIAM H. RAU 

PHILADELPHIA 
18B0 



\ --. vi . 



Copyright, 1890, by WilHatn H. Rav 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



r. The Broken Dam, North, (Conemaugh Lake). 

2. P. R. R Bridge — Hunting for Bodies. 

3. Main Si., from Franklin Street ; Wreckage 40 feet high. 

4. West End of Main street, showing Merchants' Hotel. 

5. West End of Johnstown, showing the Morgue. 

6. School House, Morgue and Wreckage. 

7. Millville Morgue — Bringing in a Body. 
S. Looking East, from School Morgue. 
9. A Ruined Home. 

10. Tree driven through House. 

11. Wreckage, rear of Morrell Institute. 

12. Relief Station, Johnstown Station, Pennsylvaiia Railroad. 



^ 



JOHNSTOWN DISASTER. 

Modern history presents no parallel for the awful 
calamity of the Conemaugh Valley. The great wave 
of May 31st, 1889, which swept out of existence ham- 
let after hamlet, and spread itself with terrific force 
over Johnstown — a thriving and populous manufac- 
turing centre of Western Pennsylvania — horrified not 
only the people of this country, but of the civilized 
world. The sudden destruction of 5000 human lives, 
with the many millions they represented in homes, 
workshops and common property — the abrupt over- 
throw of an entire community with its life, its art and its 
ingenuity, right in our midst, shocked and stunned the 
people of this land, and thrilled their nobler impulses 
Avith commingled amazement and sympathy never ex- 
perienced before. They stopped as of one accord, and 
from wonder at so unusual a demonstration of the 
power and force of nature, turned quickly to applying 
those blessings of relief and assistance which interested 
humanity ever vouchsafes the afflicted. Thus, there 
was presented to the world, first, a spectacle of death 
and distress of the greatest magnitude ; and then, cf 
the grandest benevolence ever witnessed in this land. 
In the annals of history this fearful disaster will cor- 
respond to the destruction of Herculaneum and 
Pompeii, but there will be no ruins to tell the story 
to the centuries to come. By the help of all the 
people and the determination of the survivors all 
vestiges of the flood are being removed. Again there 

(3Go) 



366 JOHNSTOWN DISASTER. 

is life and thrift in the stricken valley,, and a new city 
is building on the site of the ruined town. Men Avho 
come after us and compare the events of history will 
speak of the courage and energy of the American 
people ; and see in this event and its attendant circum- 
stances, an illustration of human greatness in adver- 
sity, of which the ancient Romans might well have 
been proud. Fortunately for them, and for many of 
our own time, the camera of the photographer has 
preserved for all times, pictures of the flood — scenes 
of ruin and wreckage — now removed from sight for- 
ever. 

1. The Broken L)am, North (Coiieiiiaugh Jjake). 

The flood was due to the bursting of the dam which 
confined the waters of the Conemaugh Lake in an 
area of about four square miles at the head of the 
valley, eleven miles above the ill-fated Johnstown. 
This lake was maintained for the pleasure of a num- 
ber of wealthy Pittsburg gentlemen who constituted 
the South Fork Fishing Club and made their summer 
residences in the beautiful cottages and villas on the 
lake shore. The height of the dam was increased 
from time to time to extend the body of water; and 
better perserve the fish that were maintained in it for 
the enjoyment of these sportsmen, The picture here 
presented represents a section of the broken dam 
showing in the foreground a part of the bed of the 
lake with nothing but a mountain stream coursing 
through it ; and the Conemaugh Valley sloping down 
towards Johnstown, in the distance. The tremendous 
pressure of water that broke through this insecure 
barrier, sweeping away whole towns in its path and 
finally covering Johnstown to a depth of thirty feet. 



JOHNSTOWN DISASTER. 367 

may be inferred partly from the gap here shown. 
The houses, trees, logs, railroad cars and human 
bodies picked up in the valley were carried into 
Johnstown and mixed up with the property and in- 
habitants of that place like so many sticks and feathers. 

2. P. R. K. Bridge— Huiiling for Bodies. — In 

about ten minutes the rnighty wave which had rushed 
down the valley carrying everything before it with 
irresistible force, enveloped Johnstown completely in 
water, mud, sand and floating objects. So swiftly 
and suddenly did it come that all the people in the 
houses on the low ground Avere practically doomed. 
Frame, brick and stone structures, were picked up 
like chips of wood and hurled against each other with 
a power that quickly reduced them to fragments. Iron 
and stone tossed upon the waters like so much wood; 
and the foundations of the town were shifted like sand 
in the wind. But here the great wave divided and 
spent its force. The valley changed its course from 
West to North and the waters tearing across Johns- 
town, and rushing against the mountains scattered 
over the city, one half turning up the valley of the 
Stony Creek against the grade which eventually 
checked it, and the other pursuing its way down the 
valley of the Conemaugh through which all the water 
had to pass. In the pathway of these streams and 
of all the freight borne upon their angry waters, at 
the lower end of Johnstown, stood the new stone 
bridge of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. This 
structure which helped to back the water over Johns- 
town, caught all the drifting objects that did not force 
their way over or around it, and when the waters 
subsided, fully fifteen acres of houses, cars, lumber. 



368 JOHNSTOWN DISASTER. 

iron and other material and human bodies rested 
compactly against it in the bed of the rivers. This 
picture was taken several days after the flood, at which 
time workmen had just begun to get the work of 
removing the drift fairly underway. It was estimated 
that 500 bodies were caught in this drift and either 
drowned, crushed or burned. 

3. Main Street from Franklin Street; Wreck- 
age Forty Feet High. — This was one of the sights 
to be met with on all sides after the flood. The pile 
of rubbish was deposited on the main street of Johns- 
town, and was held in place by the stout brick and 
5tone buildings that escaped the direct force of the 
current. In this pile, which was forty feet high, 
there were not only human bodies, but household 
articles of ev^ery description, from the frying-pan to 
the family Bible. The Main street was lined with 
large stores and warehouses, like on any other busi- 
ness thoroughfare, but none of them escaped damage, 
and few remained on their own foundations. On 
these particular buildings many persons were saved, 
some flying to the roofs upon the suggestion of dan- 
ger and others being taken on from buildings and 
timber as they floated by. 

4. West End of Main Street, Showing Mer- 
cliants' Hotel. — Here again is an illustration of the 
manner in which the rubbish settled after the water 
left it. The Merchants' Hotel is seen standing, but 
badly damaged and forming a barrier against which 
the drift rested. Many people were saved in this 
house. The Hurlburt House, another large Johns- 
town hotel, did not fare so well, being more directly 
in the way of the current. In it men, women and 



JOHNSTOWN DISASTER. 369 

children perished, being caught by water and 
drowned, or killed by flying material. A few fairly 
preserved houses are noticeable along the left-hand 
side of the Main street, but these were all inun- 
dated. The roof and upper story of a frame struc- 
ture in the foreground shows a freak of the flood, 
this remnant of a once happy home being carried 
from its foundations, no one can tell where, and 
deposited where it is now seen. The transferring of 
housetops to all sections of the city, and in fact, for 
miles beyond it, was a conspicuous part of the flood's 
work. Few of them were delivered whole, however, 
and had to be destroyed to make room for the work- 
men. 



5. West End of JohnstoAvn, SliOAviiig- the 
Morg-ue. — Johnstown is hemmed in by hills, and for 
a brief space, while the flood was at its height, those 
hills held the water over it like a lake. A fair sec- 
tional illustration of this is shown by the hills rising 
in the background in this picture. The water covered 
land, houses and people, and the hills held the water 
until the damage was done. Imagine water poured in 
upon a crowded amphitheatre, and you have an idea 
what the flood in Johnstown was like. The objects 
here shown settled where they are, after violent 
wrenching and tossing on terrific currents. The 
school-house in the distance was submerged, but held 
to its foundation. At the time this view was taken it 
was being used as a morgue. In the mud, in the 
foreground, what is left of a square piano is observed, 
and behind it beds and bedding are to be noticed, 
mixed up indiscriminately with logs, wagon wheels, 



370 JOHNSTOWN DISASTER. 

chairs and barrels. Thus the home ' and the work- 
shop were brought to a common level. 

6. School-house, Morgue and Wreckage. — Here 
is a closer view of the school-house morgue just 
referred to. The wreckage here consists of almost 
everything in the way of household goods that can 
be thought of Many bodies are still under these 
ruins, wet and bleeding. As bodies were taken out, 
they were carried around to the morgue, stripped and 
washed and held for identification. Many of them 
were not recognizable because of the nature of the 
injuries, and they were buried as speedily as possible, 
to prevent infection, and to make room in the morgue 
for more. 

7. Milleville Morgue— Bringing iu a Body* — 

There were four or more buildings known as 
morgues at Johnstown for weeks after the flood, and 
this is one of them. Workmen are carrying a body 
in on a stretcher, to be washed and laid out for iden- 
tification. So frequently were bodies taken from the 
debris or picked up in the drift against the bridge, 
that little or no interest attached to the finding or 
removal of them. Men and women who would avoid 
such sights under ordinary circumstances, became 
used to them, and witnessed scenes like this with no 
concern at all. 

8. Looking East From School Morgue. — The 

cosy homes on Prospect Hill, overlooking Johnstown, 
are to be seen to the east of the city, on the right of 
the picture. Beyond it are the Cambria Iron Works 
and the railroad bridge. In the centre of the picture 
a clearing is observed, unobstructed save by rubbish 



JOHNSTOWN DISASTER. 37 I 

of a light character. This clearing was made by the 
flood coming down the Conemaugh Valley, much 
this side of the point called Prospect Hill. The 
flood rolled right across the town at this point, and 
the clearing, which was built up solidly before, shows 
where the volume of water was strongest. The 
houses on either side that stood, held their foundations 
merely because they did not get the direct force of 
the blow. The manner in which they were tossed 
about, however, is pretty clearly indicated. 

9. A Kuined Home. — This picture speaks for 
itself. It represents a ruined home. What has be- 
come of its former inmates, is a question. Where it 
came from, it would be hard to tell. On the first 
wave houses were borne into Johnstown in whole 
and in part, that had been picked up miles above. 
This house may have come from Woodvale, or it may 
be resting near its own foundations. 

10. Tree Driven Throvig^h House. — The impossi- 
bility of immediately finding the foundations of any 
property is indicated by the surface here shown. 
The mud covers street lines, cellars, sidewalks and 
gardens to a depth of many feet, and these houses have 
settled where they are, at random. The interesting 
feature of this picture, however, is the tree driven 
through the house on the left. This is another freak 
of the flood. The tree was uprooted by the water, 
stripped of its branches and driven into the house 
in less time, probably, than it takes to tell about it. 
It would tax human ingenuity greatly to accomplish 
a similar feat in the same time. 

11. Wreckage, Rear ot Morrell In.stitute. — 

Scenes of this kind were to be seen on every hand. 



37* JOHNSTOWN DISASTER. 

In the earlier days of relief it was sometimes impos- 
sible to pass from one part of the ruined district to a 
point within one hundred yards of it, without climb- 
ing over just such mountains of roofs, houses and 
rubbish as this. One of the first things done, there- 
fore, was to cut roads through to admit of the passage 
of men and horses. This was invariably accom- 
panied by the finding of bodies and valuable prop- 
erty. Sometimes the obstructions would be of such 
a nature that huge derricks would have to be used to 
help remove the weight, but wherever it was possible 
without destroying valuables or bodies, the torch 
was applied and the rubbish burned. There was 
really no other method of getting rid of it. 

12. Relief Station, Johnstown Station, Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad. — The promptness with which relief 
poured into Johnstown, as soon as the distress of the 
people became known, has been the subject of com- 
ment. Clothing and food were sent in great quanti- 
ties, and distributed to the sufferers at convenient sta- 
tions. This station happens to be the Pennsylvania 
Railroad station and the main supply station, used 
partly by the commissary department and partly 
as a morgue. Here General Hastings, who so en- 
deared himself to the people that he has become 
known as "The Hero of Johnstown," had his head- 
quarters. These men and women are now waiting 
for the distribution to begin. All classes before 
the flood come as one class now, to obtain food. 
There is no partiality, no favoritism, and rich and 
poor, are poor alike. It is a fact that all the peo- 
ple, even to a large extent from neighboring towns, 
had to depend upon these supplies. Money was 
practically useless for weeks, because there were no 
stores at which to buy. 



